Doctor accused of putting woman in coma also accused of threatening employees

HILO, BIG ISLAND (HawaiiNewsNow) - The State has opened a new investigation on the Big Island dentist accused of putting a young mother in the intensive care unit.

Kristen Tavares, 23, remains in a coma after going in to have her wisdom teeth pulled by Dr. John Stover. Now accusations against Dr. Stover are piling up.

In July 2012 an employee says she asked Dr. Stover how his day was. According to court documents he allegedly responded with, "If he had a gun, he would shoot it out, and when the FBI arrives, they would know it was him, because he'd still be standing there."

The employee asked:

"You're not freakin going postal on us, are you?"

Dr. Stover replied:

"No, I'm going FedEx."

Terroristic threatening charges were brought against Dr. Stover. However they were dismissed because the judge felt there wasn't intent. The Hawaii County Prosecutors office is appealing that decision.

Another employee, a massage therapist, says she was rushed into surgical procedures despite not having any training. She says Dr. Stover has anger issues and would get mad about drugs and equipment not being prepped correctly, yet still used them saying, "the fact that he put drugs into someone and didn't know for sure what they were at first completely freaks me out."

Employees claim adult drugs were used on an 11 year old patient and two employees worried about Dr. Stover's state of mind.

"I think Dr. Stover is financially stressed out and continues to accuse staff of sabotaging his practice. I believe Dr. Stover will one day crack and hurt or even kill someone or himself," said the employee in a police report.

"We all feel that if something doesn't happen to improve the environment at work that something catastrophic is going to happen. Either a patient will die, or Dr. Stover might lose it and someone else might get hurt," said another employee in a letter written to Dr. Stover's management, dated July 17, 2012.

Dr. Stover's attorney Brian De Lima says the terroristic threatening charges were dismissed and have no merit. He isn't talking about employee accusations.

More patients have also come forward about their experiences as well. Matthew Brigoli says he went in to get teeth pulled and spent three days in the hospital last year.

"When they brought me into the ER room the room was covered in blood. It looked like a murder scene happened," said Marissa Albarado, Brigoli's fiance. "Nobody should have to go through this. It is a nightmare."

The state has opened a new investigation on Dr. Stover following our reporting.

Dr. Stover's three offices remain open.

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